I posted a poll on Twitter that asked people if they preferred it when the team that knocks you out of the playoffs a) goes on to win everything or b) gets immediately eliminated.
Obviously, I prefer when my team doesn't get knocked out AT ALL. However, everyone but one team fails to lift the Larry O'Brien/Lombardi/whatever trophy at the end of the season.
I also prefer it when my teams make the playoffs, even if they lose immediately. After all, that's the experience of 90% of American sports fans who have no shot at the trophy.
However, this season was a weird one for Fusion men fans. Firstly, Duluth pounded everyone and ran away with the #1 seed. Under the conditions of last year, they would have lifted the Conference Championship, Fusion would have made it in as #2 seed and defending champs Med City would have seen their season end.
Instead of that scenario, NPSL changed the rules for the North this season and allowed the top 4 finishers to make the playoffs - while awarding the Conference Championship exclusively to the playoff winner. Med City made the playoffs, came here to Moorhead and knocked out Fusion. They then went on the road to Duluth (who had conceded but hammered TwinStars) and knocked out the #1 seed in the entire fucking league. So fair play to them. To bounce back to that Twitter question, it makes me personally feel better that Fusion were knocked out by a team that have moved on to the regionals.
That brings me on to the women, who have continued to struggle. However, the two biggest defeats were by Minnesota Thunder (who won the regular season North Conference title) and Salvo (who took their playoff spot after Thunder declined to enter). Salvo have now moved on to the Nationals, so yeah...
There was a 2-1 narrow loss to third placed (on goal difference) Sioux Falls City in the Zandbroz Derby and other reasons to hope that the defense is on the up, which is a weird thing to say of a side with a -43 goal difference but to be honest it feels like only scoring 3 goals is a hell of a lot of a bigger problem. The next lowest in the division was 10.
Honestly, I don't know how Fusion generates any revenue with its poor attendance record and free streaming of home games with no embedded sponsorship. (If you wonder what I mean by that last reference, check out Duluth's creative use of sponsored elements)
I heard some crowd sound on recent streams but then when I attended the Fusion-Med City playoff game (and sat in the stands), I would say there were scarcely 30 people there for the biggest occasion in the club's history. Valley News Live did preview the game, but I don't recall seeing any narrative pieces in the Forum, even as Yu Tsukanome blazed a trail to the national Golden Boot. I would argue media coverage is essential to bring people out to a stadium which is badly signposted and basically surrounded by building work - not to mention it is here in Mhd, not in Fargo proper...although that didn't stop curious people from gathering in FC Fargo's early days.
Lastly, a hat-tip to Quinn Carter - the MSUM Dragon who was the last line of that porous Fusion women's defense and Tsukanome - the 22 year old who came within one goal of Jade Johnson's 2017 Fusion single season goalscoring record.
Love and peace.
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